Everett Stunz Duxiana's customers are "discerning sleepers," says Phil Coller, who with his wife Nicki ("the face of the store," says Phil) run a business whose legacy goes back 55 years.

In fact, Everett Stunz opened on Girard Avenue at the same time that two other La Jolla icons opened: Harry's Coffee Shop and Warwick's Bookstore. The Collers have only owned the store since 2005, but they're familiar faces in the business community.

Coller calls Everett Stunz Duxiana, which houses three showrooms among 2,500 square feet of space, "a destination for people on a mission. They want to buy really good quality."

The Duxiana beds certain qualify. "They've been around for 90 years," Coller says. "They're from Sweden and they have a patented special spring system inside the bed. And they last a lifetime. A lot of our customers have had them for 25 or 30 years."

Everett Stunz is the only licensed purveyor of Duxiana beds, which top out in cost at around $16,000, in San Diego County.

Besides Dux beds, "we also have a totally organic (mattress) called SavvyRest," said Coller, "and we have a Reverie bed system which is most famous for its adjustable base. It also has a Latex mattress which is very unique."

The store features a wide variety of other products related to high-end sleep. These include sheets, pillowcases and duvet covers, and bedding such as couplets and mattress covers. Coller describes these items as "special, mostly European, very high-quality bed linens and bedding."

"One product that elicits a lot of praise is our Seventh Heaven down pillows. As soon as we get them in the store, they're sold," he says, adding that the price of pillows depends upon the amount of down in them and where the down comes from. It's not unusual to find a pillow priced at $350.

When it comes to shopping for beds and bedding, the key is "feel," Coller says. "You can sleep on anything, but it's important to have the right product in terms of feel."

No wonder Everett Stunz customers are not in a hurry.

"The average customer takes two or three hours to choose a bed," Coller says. "Sometimes it can take two or three weeks." These customers are welcome to test out the beds, too. "In each one of our bed styles, we have the appropriate product on the floor so you can actually test it."

Some of the customers come with their dogs, which is fine, because Coller says Everett Stunz is pet-friendly. He and his wife have a couple of canine companions themselves.